This would be perfect for a Halloween 2019 release. Jack Black is competing against himself this year with 'Goosebumps 2' and 'The House with a Clock in it's Wall'. Both look like they could be happening in the same universe.

And 'House with a Clock' is directed by Eli Roth, you know, the man who is (was?) supposed to direct 'Aleister Arcane'. The trailer surprised me, I think there's a chance he could pull this off visually, which I never expected. Of course 'Aleister' should be aiming at a bit older audience to begin with, if true to the source material, R-rated even, but still. This could actually work.

Amblin is sort of in a soft-reboot stage. Because they are doing the Arachnophobia remake, have you been in discussions with them about any other projects coming down the line, especially ones that call back to what we were talking about with this void in classic PG films?

Eli Roth:This actually happened because I was going to — and I’m still supposed to — direct an adaptation of a graphic novel called Aleister Arcane with Jim Carrey, which is an even crazier Gremlins-, Beetlejuice-type movie. And the writer has been working on the script and it’s just the timing of it didn’t work out with the script, and then The House With a Clock in Its Walls came in and I was almost pre-approved at Amblin to do this type of movie.

Although I do understand where Roth is coming from, I don't think Gremlins and Beetlejuice are right as comparisons. Unless they make it a lot more friendly for younger viewers. I would say Arcane is a lot more lugubrious and creepy when it comes to the visual horror, in that way it's nothing like those two movies. My guess is they will tone it down.

Now that Sonic is done filming, I truly hope this is next! "House with a Clock in it's Walls" did well, that should greenlight this for Eli Roth. A late September / early October release would be perfect. Fingers crossed.